Where We Live: History in Reflection

The Where We Live series is a Bay Area News Group project that showcases the beauty, energy and character of the Bay Area from the perspective of our photographers, graphic artists and designers. Here is the 26th installment of the Where We Live project, a collection of images made by photojournalist Jane Tyska

The Paramount Theatre, left, and I. Magnin building are reflected in a modern building on Broadway and 20th Street in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

LEFT: A reflection of an older building is seen on a modern building on 14th Street near Broadway in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, June 19, 2016. RIGHT: A reflection of the Tribune Tower is seen on a building on Broadway near 12th Street in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

A older building is reflected on a modern building on 14th Street near Broadway in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Reflections are seen on a building on Broadway near 12th Street in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

City Hall is reflected on a building on 14th Street near Broadway in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Reflections are seen on a building on Broadway near 12th Street in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

I’ve always loved downtown Oakland’s wonderful art deco buildings, and I began this project intending to photograph them in great detail. But as I drove around observing the architecture from different angles, I kept noticing the interesting reflections of older historic buildings in modern ones, and I knew that was the visual angle to pursue.I shot these pictures over the course of a month or so, going at different times of day to catch different light, though the images that work best feature ample daylight to enhance the reflections. I love the trippy and distorted “Alice in Wonderland” effect as past meets present — a perfect metaphor for a Bay Area city still exploring its identity and growing into itself.There is no doubt that Oakland’s landscape, both architecturally and culturally, is changing rapidly. Uber is moving into the old Sears building on Broadway, decades-old blues joints are being replaced by alternative music venues, longtime residents are being priced out of their neighborhoods and violence is still a constant challenge throughout the city — yet this vibrant and diverse place continues to thrive in new and unexpected ways.This photographic series is an attempt to show how the old soul of Oakland is still reflected in its new heart.